4 girls together?

[Sara’s Piggies]

I recently adopted 2 new female guineapigs (Wilma and Quinn). I also have 2 other females (Phoebe and Lumen) and a male pair (Dexter and Ezra). The new piggies are obviously still adjusting but I would eventually like to include them with other piggies. My first thought was to put them with Phoebe and Lumen and have a 4 female group. Does anybody have info or experience with a 4 female group? I would be introducing a pair to a pair.

Another option would be to have Ezra and Dexter neutered and put them each with a female pair.

I understand there is no “for sure” group combinations that always work. I’m just looking for thoughts and opinions.

 

[TheKayler]

I have heard of people having female packs with 10 piggies. I owned one female who didn’t like other pigs much, so when she passed i adopted males. I would say the females would be fine together if they get along and like each other’s personality.

 

[Wiebke]

I recently adopted 2 new female guineapigs (Wilma and Quinn). I also have 2 other females (Phoebe and Lumen) and a male pair (Dexter and Ezra). The new piggies are obviously still adjusting but I would eventually like to include them with other piggies. My first thought was to put them with Phoebe and Lumen and have a 4 female group. Does anybody have info or experience with a 4 female group? I would be introducing a pair to a pair.

Another option would be to have Ezra and Dexter neutered and put them each with a female pair.

I understand there is no “for sure” group combinations that always work. I’m just looking for thoughts and opinions.

Merging two established pairs of sows usually depends on whether the top sows can come to an agreement on who comes top or not. All you can do is try. The dominance can be quite strong as the hierarchy is being established from the top down. A bonding fails if two sows cannot settle the ranking issue between them; this can also happen lower in the rankings. If this is the case and you persist with the merger, you will notice that old grudges have a way of coming back again and again over time.
If you have two dominant sows where there is not a marked difference in size/kudos a merger is usually not going to work out.

The success rate is very good if at least one of the pairs sub-adult and cannot challenge the existing hierarchy but decreases the older the sow pairs are (and the more unwilling to lose status) in my own experience. It all depends on the personalities mix and the bonding dynamics, which are never the same.

The larger the group, the easier it is to introduce new sows; but even then not all sows are cut out for group life and/or willing to settle in somewhere down in the hierarchy. I have had a large group of up to 13 sows with a husboar once.

All you can do is try and see how it goes!

Please take the time to read this guide here; you will hopefully find it helpful. Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics